Trump is urging Ukraine to drop its claim over Crimea and give up hopes of joining NATO, but Zelensky refuses to back down, creating a tense clash as the two sides prepare to meet in Washington.
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| Trump Zelensky meeting in Washington / Image Credit: Flickr |
Trump urged Zelensky to abandon Ukraine’s NATO membership and accept the loss of Crimea as part of a possible peace deal to end the conflict. That’s the bold message the U.S. president sent, staking out a hard line just before a high-stakes meeting at the White House involving European leaders too.
With a tone that blends bluntness and calculation, Trump wrote on Truth Social late Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to—but no getting back Crimea, and no going into NATO by Ukraine.” It’s a message that echoes demands long voiced by Moscow.
Zelenskyy reached Washington just before a major summit with Trump and leaders from Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, as well as top officials from the EU and NATO. European partners are standing together in support of Ukraine, calling for clear security guarantees and dismissing any idea of giving up its sovereignty.
Ukrainian troops and civilians continue to feel the war’s brutal grip. Russia launched overnight airstrikes that killed children and destroyed homes—including a harrowing attack in Zaporizhzhia that killed a 15-year-old, just hours before the summit.
Zelenskyy responded directly and emotionally. Through his Telegram channel, he said peace must be durable—not built on past mistakes when Ukraine was forced to cede Crimea and parts of Donbas, only to face renewed aggression. He reaffirmed refusal to yield territory, emphasizing that Russia must stop the war it started.
This tension isn’t happening in a vacuum. In Alaska last week, Trump met with Vladimir Putin—an encounter viewed by many in Europe and Kyiv as overly friendly to Moscow. However, his envoy later revealed the U.S. and Europe might offer Ukraine security guarantees modeled after NATO’s Article 5, but outside the alliance framework.
As Wednesday’s meeting moves forward, the leaders are balancing their decisions with extreme caution. On one side, the urgency to end Europe’s deadliest war in decades; on the other, the imperative to safeguard Ukraine’s fundamental rights and borders. Trump’s stance leaves Zelenskyy with a painful choice: compromise on core principles or risk losing critical Western backing.
Whatever the outcome, this moment is shaping up as a critical crossroads for Europe, for Ukraine, and for how the world demands peace—but not at any cost.